There could be many reasons for visa refusal or cancellation. It is totally disheartening to be notified of the visa refusal or cancellation. If you are onshore and have received the refusal, cancellation or NOICC letter from the department. Do not panic! You may be eligible to apply for the Merit Review at the Tribunal. In some cases, if the applicant applied for the visa from offshore, they also eligible to apply for review at ART. It's important to note that there are specific timeframes and eligibility criteria for applying for review, and seeking legal advice may be beneficial in navigating the review process effectively.
There could be so many reasons where an applicant could be liable for Visa refusal or cancellation. Some of the examples are given below:
If you have provided misleading information or bogus documents to the department in your current or previous visa application, your visa may be subject to cancellation or refusal.
If you do not submit the required documents with the application, the department may refuse the application without requesting the necessary documents.
Your visa application might be refused if you fail to meet the requirements for the visa you applied for, which includes meeting health criteria and passing the character test.
Your visa application may be cancelled if you fail to meet or comply with the conditions specified on your visa.
Your visa may be cancelled if you are convicted of a criminal offence while in Australia.
Your visa may be cancelled if the circumstances under which it was originally granted no longer exist.
and many more
If your visa application is refused and you wish to seek a review by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), it is important to contact a Registered Migration Agent as soon as possible, as strict time limits may apply when lodging an ART review application.
In Australia, the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) provides independent review of certain decisions made by Australian Government departments, agencies and ministers. This includes a range of decisions relating to visa refusals, visa cancellations, protection visas, character matters, citizenship, sponsorships and nominations.
The ART commenced on 14 October 2024, replacing the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). Before earlier reforms to Australia's migration review system, migration and refugee matters were also considered by bodies such as the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) and the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT).
For immigration matters, the ART has separate Migration and Protection jurisdictional areas. The Migration jurisdictional area deals with a range of visa and migration-related matters, while the Protection jurisdictional area deals with eligible decisions concerning protection visas and related protection matters.
Not every immigration or visa decision can be reviewed by the ART. Whether you have a right to seek a review will depend on the type of decision, the relevant legislation and your individual circumstances. Your decision letter from the Department of Home Affairs will generally state whether the decision can be reviewed and the applicable time limit for lodging an application.
The ART is an independent body and reviews your file based on the facts and the laws applied to the decision by the department. After applying for a review of the application, the ART assesses the case thoroughly, considering all relevant information and evidence provided by the applicant and the department. This includes reviewing the original decision made by the department or agency and considering any additional submissions or arguments put forward by the applicant. The ART may also hold hearings or conferences to gather further information or clarify points raised during the review process. Finally, the ART will make a decision based on the merits of the case and notify both parties of the outcome. Your current substantive or bridging visa remains valid, or you can apply for the same bridging visa while your application is under review by the ART. If the ART affirms the decision of the department, your bridging visa A, B, or C will cease within 35 days following the ART's decision.
If your visa application is denied for reasons other than character grounds, you have 28 days to submit a review application. If your visa is cancelled, you have 28 days to seek a review. It's advisable to seek advice from a registered migration agent to confirm the time limit for applying for a review. ART does not allow the extension of time, and the applicant needs to ensure that the application is lodged within the prescribed time frame.
The processing time for applications and finalising cases at the ART can vary widely depending on factors such as the complexity of the case, the tribunal's workload, and other circumstances. In general, it may take several months to over a year for the ART to process an application and reach a final decision on a case. ART does have its own guidelines to prioritise cases; i.e., a review of a visitor visa application where an Australian sponsor has made the appeal will be prioritised quickly. You can check more Detail here What happen after ART application lodgement ? ART Processign time
ART has the power of the following:
Affirm: ART can affirm the department decision. It means ART will agree with the department decision, and the applicant will get no success.
Vary:
ART can vary the department decision and will remit the decision back to the department to reconsider the application.
Set aside: In many cases, ART can also set aside the department decision. In that case, the applicant visa will be taken to have never cancelled.
You will have two options:
1. File an application with Federal Court
It can only be pursued if you strongly believe that there was an error of law and that the ART did not properly apply the law, possibly due to various other reasons. It's important to note that registered migration agents are prohibited from lodging applications in the Federal Court. Therefore, you should seek advice from a migration lawyer.
2. Application for Ministerial intervention – You may also explore the option of submitting a request to the minister if you have a genuine need to do so. The minister has the authority to exercise personal discretion to overturn the decision in certain cases, although the success rate is typically exceptionally low.
Applying for ART review within the prescribed time frame could be a daunting and stressful task. Our registered migration agents have experience with ART applications. They will analyse the reasons why the visa was refused or cancelled. Our migration agents will prepare submissions to the ART, addressing the relevant legislation and departmental policy to argue why your visa should not have been refused or cancelled.
You should book an appointment with our experienced registered migration agent if you have received a refusal or cancellation of your visa. We put our best efforts into research and cite the relevant cases.
We respond promptly to all queries. Get in touch with our team today.
This page was last modified on 13 August 2026